Unlikely Allies: Inside Our Fight

Derek Benner: The Cost of Protecting Others

What does it take to spend a career confronting some of humanity’s darkest realities? And what happens when the people dedicated to protecting others need protection themselves?

In Episode 3 of Unlikely Allies: Inside Our Fight, hosts Sonny Von Cleveland and Jim Cole sit down with Derek Benner, CEO of Our Rescue, for a candid conversation about leadership, law enforcement, human trafficking, child exploitation, and the personal cost of serving on the front lines.

Drawing on decades of experience in federal law enforcement, Derek shares his journey from a young man pursuing a career in public service to confronting complex criminal networks, investigating exploitation, and ultimately leading an organization dedicated to protecting vulnerable people.

Together, Sonny, Jim, and Derek explore the realities of human trafficking, the evolving tactics of offenders, the importance of prevention, and the challenges investigators face long after an operation ends.

The conversation also takes a deeply personal turn as Jim reflects on losing a member of his team to suicide and the lasting responsibility leaders can carry when tragedy strikes.

In this episode:

• Derek Benner’s journey through federal law enforcement and into leadership at Our Rescue • The realities of human trafficking and child exploitation • How criminal networks and exploitation tactics have evolved • Why protecting children requires more than arrests and prosecutions • The psychological and emotional toll on investigators • Mental health, suicide prevention, and supporting those on the front lines • The importance of partnerships, prevention, and community involvement • How Our Rescue is working to create meaningful, lasting change

This episode is a reminder that behind every investigation are human beings, behind every statistic is a life, and behind every meaningful solution is a willingness to work together.

Unlikely Allies: Inside Our Fight brings together different experiences and perspectives in pursuit of a shared mission: protecting the vulnerable, confronting exploitation, and building solutions that make a difference.

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She was 17 years old. She had already decided she didn’t want to live anymore. Then a serial killer abducted her—and everything changed.

In November 1984, Lisa McVey was riding her bicycle home from work in Tampa, Florida, when she was kidnapped at gunpoint by a man who had been terrorizing the city.

What followed was 26 hours of unimaginable violence, psychological manipulation, and a fight for survival that would ultimately help bring one of Florida’s most notorious serial killers to justice.

But the most extraordinary part of Lisa’s story isn’t simply that she survived.

It’s what happened before—and everything she chose to do afterward.

For years, Lisa endured horrific abuse inside the very home where she was supposed to be protected. Teachers, investigators, and adults around her suspected something was wrong.

Yet nobody asked her one simple question:

“Do you feel safe?”

When Lisa finally escaped her kidnapper, she returned home expecting safety. Instead, she faced more violence. And when she told investigators what had happened, some questioned her credibility because she appeared too calm.

Until one detective changed everything.

“I believe you.”

Those three words helped uncover the truth, expose the abuse happening inside her home, and ultimately contributed to the capture of a serial killer.

In this deeply personal episode of Unlikely Allies, hosts Sonny Von Cleveland and Jim Cole sit down with Lisa McVey for an extraordinary conversation about survival, trauma, forgiveness, and the responsibility we all share to protect vulnerable children.

Lisa shares the details of her abduction, the remarkable evidence she deliberately left behind, the detective who believed her, and the journey that led her to serve 25 years in law enforcement—including 13 years protecting children as a school resource deputy.

The conversation also explores the true story behind the Lifetime film Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey, what Hollywood got right and wrong, and why Lisa continues sharing her experience more than four decades later.

This episode asks questions every parent, educator, law enforcement officer, and concerned adult should consider:

• What happens when a child is trying to tell us something without saying it directly?
• Why do we sometimes mistake a trauma survivor’s calmness for dishonesty?
• How many children are overlooked because we assume they’re simply acting out?
• What difference can one person make by choosing to listen—and believe?

Lisa McVey’s story is a powerful reminder that surviving trauma does not have to define the rest of your life.

Sometimes, the person who once needed protection becomes the person who protects others.

“I’m a voice no longer silenced.” — Lisa McVey

This is Unlikely Allies.

CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, kidnapping, domestic violence, and suicidal thoughts. Listener discretion is advised.

ABOUT UNLIKELY ALLIES

Hosted by Sonny Von Cleveland and Jim Cole, Unlikely Allies brings together perspectives shaped by lived experience, law enforcement, advocacy, and service. Through honest conversations with survivors, investigators, and changemakers, the podcast explores the realities of exploitation, the power of human connection, and what it takes to create meaningful change.

Presented in connection with #ourrescue.

What happens when a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and the detective who helped bring his abuser to justice sit down together 16 years later? In the premiere episode of Unlikely Allies, hosts Sonny Von Cleveland and Jim Cole welcome Dr. Peter Verdin, author of Gold in the Cracks, and Sergeant Jeremy Hinson of the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office for an extraordinary conversation about childhood trauma, the pursuit of justice, and the power of human connection.

As a child, Peter was sexually abused by John Hamilton, a trusted youth baseball coach who later fled the United States to escape prosecution. Jeremy was among the investigators who helped pursue Hamilton across international borders, ultimately contributing to a case that ended with Hamilton receiving a 55-year prison sentence. Together, Peter and Jeremy revisit the investigation, the emotional toll of confronting the past, and the complicated realities of seeking justice when the damage extends far beyond the courtroom.

But this conversation is about more than a criminal investigation. It’s about what happens after justice is served. Through two deeply personal perspectives—one from a survivor and the other from a law enforcement professional—Peter and Jeremy explore resilience, accountability, healing, and the unexpected relationships that can emerge from life’s darkest experiences. Their story reminds us that while we cannot change what happened to us, we can influence what happens next—and that sometimes, the most unlikely connections can become powerful sources of hope.

Unlikely Allies, an Our Rescue Podcast, is hosted by internationally recognized speaker, survivor and now advocate Sonny Von Cleveland and internationally recognized child protection expert and retired Supervisory Special Agent Jim Cole.